A Consumer's Guide to Buying Wood (Pdf)

(202) 289-2368 Ani Youatt (202) 289-2388 Ari Hershowitz please contact: For moreinformation,

Forest Facts that were not. products thatwere from those legallyharvested the forest totheconsumer, helping todistinguish FSC alsopromotes systemstotrackwood from collateral damagesandincrease efficiency. The reduced-impact loggingtechniquesthatmitigate represents bestpractices,includingtheuse of wood FSC-certified verification systemisperfect, came from awell-managed forest. While no (FSC) logo—agoodindicatorthatthewood product, lookfortheForest Stewardship Council If you dodecidetouseatraditionalwood When BuyingWood, ChooseWisely market andunsustainablebusinesspractices. againstdestructive wood—or by choosingrecycled or composite alternatives—you helpturn the to you asaconsumer. Andby purchasing legallyandsustainablyharvested difference istoask. By asking,you show retailers thattheanswers matter Latin AmericaThe onlywaytoknow ordeforestation the inSoutheast Asia. edge—or itcouldcontribute tocontinuedimpoverishment offamiliesin asustainablecommunityinitiative on therainforest’smoney couldsupport can have an impactonforests andpeoplethousandsofmilesaway. Your Whether you are buildingadeckorjustbuyingnightstand,your purchase Buying Wood Trees: Know the Forest and the Unchecked andIllegalLogginginOlancho,Honduras A Consumer’s Guide to recycling programs. pollutants, andprovides incentives for municipal forests, reduces theemissionofglobalwarming loggingintropicalmaterials prevents unnecessary plastic lumber, andcomposites.Buying recycled including reclaimed orsalvaged woods,recycled a numberofalternative materialsavailable, Depending onyour application,there are Consider Wood Alternatives

Four Questions to Ask Before Buying If your local retailers don’t know this basic Tropical Hardwoods information about their wood products, ask them to find out. Forest Facts Forest 1. Where is the wood from? For both consumers and companies, knowing the source of wood products is the first step in making good purchasing choices. At a minimum, retailers should know what country the wood came from—not just where it was processed. Ideally, they will also know the BIG-LEAF SPANISH CARIBBEAN IPÊ ROSEWOOD TEAK RAMIN MERBAU AFRICAN OKOUMÉ MAHOGANY CEDAR PINE MAHOGANY region within the country and what timber company harvested it. AKA: Honduran or AKA: Central American AKA: Honduran pine, AKA: Roble, pau AKA: Cocobolo, AKA: Teca, AKA: Gonystylus AKA: Kwila, Ipil, Intsia AKA: Sapele, sipo, AKA: Gabon, American mahogany, cedar, cedro, Cedrela Nicaraguan pitch pine, d’arco, ironwood, palisandro, Tectona grandis bancanus, Gonystylus bijuga, I. palembanica utile, Entandrophragma Aucoumea klaineana 2. What species is the wood? Swietenia macrophylla odorata, C. fissilis ocote, Pinus oocarpa, Tabebuia rosea, Dalbergia spp. spp. spp., Khaya spp. P. caribea T. impetiginosa, (e.g. Teak, Ipê, “Philippine” T. serratifolia or “Honduran” Mahogany) Slow-growing hardwood tree species are often ORIGIN: Mexico, ORIGIN: Mexico, ORIGIN: Central ORIGIN: Central & ORIGIN: American, ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: African ORIGIN: African more endangered than fast-growing softwood Central & South Central & South American highland South American African & Asian dry Asia esp. India, Asian peat swamps & Asian & Pacific Islands tropical forests from equatorial forests esp. American tropical American tropical forests, esp. Honduras tropical forests tropical forests Myanmar & Thailand lowland forests, esp. coastal & mangrove Guinea to Angola Gabon & Guinea species (see table). A tree’s origin also matters. forests forests Indonesia & Malaysia forests For example, plantation teak from Central America or Indonesia is lower risk than teak QUALITIES: Rich QUALITIES: Pink to QUALITIES: A light, QUALITIES: Dark QUALITIES: Highly QUALITIES: Dense QUALITIES: Pale QUALITIES: Red-brown QUALITIES: Pink to QUALITIES: from the forests of Myanmar. orange to reddish- salmon-red, less long-fibered wood green or brown wood patterned dark red golden-brown wood, blonde color, wood, gold-flecked reddish-brown, fine Lightweight reddish brown colors, fine dense than big-leaf easily sawn & worked is extremely dense, heartwood, dense, dimensionally stable, fine-grained, highly grain, extremely grains, durable, similar wood easily grains, dimensionally mahogany, stable, durable & weather strong & durable highly workable, workable, tensile durable & decay- working qualities to impregnated, seasoned 3. Is the wood certified by the Forest stable, highly strong, durable, resistant durable, insect & strength excellent for resistant big-leaf mahogany & worked Stewardship Council (FSC)? workable, durable aromatic weather resistant long narrow pieces, FSC certification is your best assurance that aromatic the wood you are buying is from a legal and USES: High-quality USES: Furniture, USES: Lightweight USES: Residential USES: Artisanal USES: High-quality USES: Baby cribs, USES: Flooring, USES: High-quality USES: Furniture, sustainably managed forest. You can also ask furniture, interior cabinetry, cigar boxes, construction, broom decking, heavy carving, inlay work, furniture, interior picture frames, tool joinery, posts, beams, furniture, interior interior finishing, about the specific type of FSC certification finishing, artisanry, musical instruments, handles,crates, construction, railroad musical instruments, finishing, decking, ship handles, pool cues, furniture, musical finishing, boat building, cabinetry, cigar boxes, given to the wood, e.g., 100 percent, recycled, boat building, veneer construction telephone poles & ties, fence posts tool & cutlery handles building, veneer joinery, moldings, instruments artisanry, veneer veneer, plywood posts, paper flooring or mixed-sources. STATUS: Like all STATUS: Considered STATUS: Remaining STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Considered STATUS: Centuries of STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Few natural STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Limited range 4. If the wood is not FSC certified, timbers shown here, threatened by natural stands exploited in the threatened by logging commercial logging logged in vulnerable stands survive, logged throughout & heavy exploitation, how can I know it was legally or overexploited wherever logging & habitat are threatened by Amazon to supply wherever it occurs; & land clearing have peat swamps & currently under review their natural ranges, esp. in Gabon, mean it occurs & facing loss throughout its overexploitation & decking market unsuccessfully sharply reduced protected areas, for CITES protection; species in this group that supplies are sustainably logged? extensive habitat loss; range; unsuccessfully illegal logging in as substitute for proposed for CITES habitat; most natural especially prime in Indonesia and face widespread considered under Some certification labels on the international on CITES Appendix proposed for CITES protected areas; in dwindling big-leaf Appendix II in 2007* forest teak traded endangered orangutan Papua New Guinea, commercial depletion threat market are not rigorous or independently II since 2002*; Appendix II in 2007*; Honduras, conflict over mahogany supplies internationally is from habitat; on CITES the object of large- evaluated. Retailers may also have their own associated with forced often associated with illegal pine logging has Myanmar, where its Appendix II since scale illegal logging labor and human rights destructive mahogany led to ongoing human trade has helped to 2002* and exploitation of internal systems to ensure that they are selling violations in Latin extraction rights violations fund the military junta communities legal products. Let suppliers know through America your questions that you care about how these systems work. NOTE: Most current NOTE: All species NOTE: Wood difficult NOTE: Ipê’s life history NOTE: Dalbergia is a NOTE: Extensive NOTE: Six of 30 NOTE: Reports NOTE: In the same NOTE: Extensive old-growth supply in Cedrela look very to distinguish from – slow-growing, with large group of similar plantations in Gonystylus species suggest that large botanical family plantations have been is from Peru, where similar and are other commercial scarce regeneration species occurring Indonesia and Central are widely traded & volumes will be used (Meliaceae) as big-leaf established outside illegal & unsustainable considered threatened species in genus (e.g., – makes it extremely at extremely low & South America considered threatened, in construction of 2008 mahogany, Spanish okoumé’s range in logging continues; Southern Yellow Pine) vulnerable to logging densities in natural provide FSC-certified esp. G. bancanus Olympic facilities in cedar & high-value Cameroon, Ghana, Fijian plantation forests supply Beijing Southeast Asian Madagascar, and supplies are also mahoganies Guyana available

Wood Sample Photos: © Aziz Hirji and courtesy of www.thewoodexplorer.com, except Entandrophragma cylindricum and Aucoumea klaineana © C. Rowland, http://christian.rolland.free.fr/ Wood is an environmentally sound and renewable low densities in natural forests and regenerate poorly resource when managed properly. However, tropical after logging. These high-value species are the object hardwoods like those described in the table are difficult of some of the most damaging illegal logging activities to manage sustainably, because they typically grow at in the countries where they occur.

BIG-LEAF SPANISH CARIBBEAN IPÊ ROSEWOOD TEAK RAMIN MERBAU AFRICAN OKOUMÉ MAHOGANY CEDAR PINE MAHOGANY

AKA: Honduran or AKA: Central American AKA: Honduran pine, AKA: Roble, pau AKA: Cocobolo, AKA: Teca, AKA: Gonystylus AKA: Kwila, Ipil, Intsia AKA: Sapele, sipo, AKA: Gabon, American mahogany, cedar, cedro, Cedrela Nicaraguan pitch pine, d’arco, ironwood, palisandro, Tectona grandis bancanus, Gonystylus bijuga, I. palembanica utile, Entandrophragma Aucoumea klaineana Swietenia macrophylla odorata, C. fissilis ocote, Pinus oocarpa, Tabebuia rosea, Dalbergia spp. spp. spp., Khaya spp. P. caribea T. impetiginosa, T. serratifolia

ORIGIN: Mexico, ORIGIN: Mexico, ORIGIN: Central ORIGIN: Central & ORIGIN: American, ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: Southeast ORIGIN: African ORIGIN: African Central & South Central & South American highland South American African & Asian dry Asia esp. India, Asian peat swamps & Asian & Pacific Islands tropical forests from equatorial forests esp. American tropical American tropical forests, esp. Honduras tropical forests tropical forests Myanmar & Thailand lowland forests, esp. coastal & mangrove Guinea to Angola Gabon & Guinea forests forests Indonesia & Malaysia forests

QUALITIES: Rich QUALITIES: Pink to QUALITIES: A light, QUALITIES: Dark QUALITIES: Highly QUALITIES: Dense QUALITIES: Pale QUALITIES: Red-brown QUALITIES: Pink to QUALITIES: orange to reddish- salmon-red, less long-fibered wood green or brown wood patterned dark red golden-brown wood, blonde color, wood, gold-flecked reddish-brown, fine Lightweight reddish brown colors, fine dense than big-leaf easily sawn & worked is extremely dense, heartwood, dense, dimensionally stable, fine-grained, highly grain, extremely grains, durable, similar wood easily grains, dimensionally mahogany, stable, durable & weather strong & durable highly workable, workable, tensile durable & decay- working qualities to impregnated, seasoned stable, highly strong, durable, resistant durable, insect & strength excellent for resistant big-leaf mahogany & worked workable, durable aromatic weather resistant long narrow pieces, aromatic

USES: High-quality USES: Furniture, USES: Lightweight USES: Residential USES: Artisanal USES: High-quality USES: Baby cribs, USES: Flooring, USES: High-quality USES: Furniture, furniture, interior cabinetry, cigar boxes, construction, broom decking, heavy carving, inlay work, furniture, interior picture frames, tool joinery, posts, beams, furniture, interior interior finishing, finishing, artisanry, musical instruments, handles,crates, construction, railroad musical instruments, finishing, decking, ship handles, pool cues, furniture, musical finishing, boat building, cabinetry, cigar boxes, boat building, veneer construction telephone poles & ties, fence posts tool & cutlery handles building, veneer joinery, moldings, instruments artisanry, veneer veneer, plywood posts, paper flooring

STATUS: Like all STATUS: Considered STATUS: Remaining STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Considered STATUS: Centuries of STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Few natural STATUS: Heavily STATUS: Limited range timbers shown here, threatened by natural stands exploited in the threatened by logging commercial logging logged in vulnerable stands survive, logged throughout & heavy exploitation, overexploited wherever logging & habitat are threatened by Amazon to supply wherever it occurs; & land clearing have peat swamps & currently under review their natural ranges, esp. in Gabon, mean it occurs & facing loss throughout its overexploitation & decking market unsuccessfully sharply reduced protected areas, for CITES protection; species in this group that supplies are extensive habitat loss; range; unsuccessfully illegal logging in as substitute for proposed for CITES habitat; most natural especially prime in Indonesia and face widespread considered under on CITES Appendix proposed for CITES protected areas; in dwindling big-leaf Appendix II in 2007* forest teak traded endangered orangutan Papua New Guinea, commercial depletion threat II since 2002*; Appendix II in 2007*; Honduras, conflict over mahogany supplies internationally is from habitat; on CITES the object of large- associated with forced often associated with illegal pine logging has Myanmar, where its Appendix II since scale illegal logging labor and human rights destructive mahogany led to ongoing human trade has helped to 2002* and exploitation of violations in Latin extraction rights violations fund the military junta communities America

NOTE: Most current NOTE: All species NOTE: Wood difficult NOTE: Ipê’s life history NOTE: Dalbergia is a NOTE: Extensive NOTE: Six of 30 NOTE: Reports NOTE: In the same NOTE: Extensive old-growth supply in Cedrela look very to distinguish from – slow-growing, with large group of similar plantations in Gonystylus species suggest that large botanical family plantations have been is from Peru, where similar and are other commercial scarce regeneration species occurring Indonesia and Central are widely traded & volumes will be used (Meliaceae) as big-leaf established outside illegal & unsustainable considered threatened species in genus (e.g., – makes it extremely at extremely low & South America considered threatened, in construction of 2008 mahogany, Spanish okoumé’s range in logging continues; Southern Yellow Pine) vulnerable to logging densities in natural provide FSC-certified esp. G. bancanus Olympic facilities in cedar & high-value Cameroon, Ghana, Fijian plantation forests supply Beijing Southeast Asian Madagascar, and supplies are also mahoganies Guyana available

Wood Sample Photos: © Aziz Hirji and courtesy of www.thewoodexplorer.com, * The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was established to protect plant and animal species from overharvesting for trade. Species included in Appendix II are considered except Entandrophragma cylindricum and Aucoumea klaineana © C. Rowland, endangered, and their legal trade is supposed to be restricted to scientifically determined sustainable quotas in their native countries. http://christian.rolland.free.fr/ Know the Forest and the Trees: A Consumer’s Guide to Buying Wood

Thinking Beyond Your Own Wallet From Boardwalks to Borders Making informed and responsible choices when Policymakers at all levels of government have purchasing wood for your own use is one of the an important role to play in protecting tropical most important things you can do to combat forests. Local governments are major purchasers

Forest Facts Forest illegal logging. As a member of a larger group, of wood and the policies they adopt can become however, you have the potential to create an a benchmark for policies at the national and even greater impact. Begin by investigating the international level. Some cities already have procurement policies of your office, school, purchasing policies that give preference to FSC- house of worship, or community organization. certified wood or recycled alternatives—and Then educate others about the importance of many more are following suit. spending the organization’s funds on purchases At the national level, Congress is considering that support sustainable business practices, legislation to prohibit the import of illegally healthy forests, and the people who live and work harvested wood and has begun to require controls around them. on the illegal timber trade as part of U.S. bilateral trade agreements. The next step is for the United States to lead efforts to establish an international agreement prohibiting the cross-border trade of illegally logged wood.

Online Resources

To learn more about wood certification, visit: n The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) at www.fsc.org n NRDC’s “Good Wood” guide at www.nrdc.org/land/forests/qcert.asp

To learn more about alternatives to tropical woods, including building specifications and sources, visit: n The California Integrated Waste Management Board at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/plastic/recycled/lumber n Rainforest Relief at www.rainforestrelief.org/documents/Guidelines.pdf

To learn more about destructive illegal logging, and what’s being done to combat it, visit: n The Environmental Investigation Agency at www.eia-global.org/forests.html n NRDC’s BioGems site at www.savebiogems.org/tahuamanu